


I Never Claimed I Knew How This Would End

by Ithinkwehaveanemergency



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Again sort of, Confessions, Dating, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Romantic Fluff, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:06:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24274024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ithinkwehaveanemergency/pseuds/Ithinkwehaveanemergency
Summary: "Look, you can't tell anyone what I'm about to say, alright?"  Buck raises his eyebrows in question until Eddie sighs and nods in agreement.  "So, Josh and I were only dating temporarily."Eddie drops his spoon into his bowl with a splash and a loud clang."Buck, I told you to stop watching those Netflix Original movies."OrA story in which Buck(definitely not just the author)has been watching too much Netflix and everyone agrees.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Josh Russo
Comments: 18
Kudos: 155





	I Never Claimed I Knew How This Would End

**Author's Note:**

> This feels rushed and silly but I just needed to get a Jevan fic out because I am obsessed. Thanks to Tabby for joining this godforesaken show's fandom and never letting my love of it die.
> 
> Song title inappropriately borrowed from The Airborne Toxic Event's very sad song that means something very significant to me, "Hollywood Park"

"Maddie and Chimney think it's time for me to get back on the horse." Josh mumbles into his mimosa, peering over the rim at the sickeningly adorable couple on stage, singing Sonny and Cher. Josh swallows his sip of champagne and snorts when Chimney misses a note horribly. "God, whose idea was brunch karaoke?"

"Maddie's." Buck laughs. "Pregnancy is making her decision making a little iffy. Who picks champagne brunch when they can't drink the champagne?"

"Right?" Josh's eyes go wide as he looks over at Buck and nods. "That's what I'm saying!"

Buck is silent for a moment as they both cringe at the flat tone coming from their favorite parents-to-be. Once the pair evens out, Buck's eyes flit over to Josh again.

"You can just tell them you're not ready." Buck says, finally. Josh looks down at his nearly empty plate. Buck kicks a foot out and gently nudges Josh's shin under the table. "There's nothing wrong with not being ready. If you need more time to recover, that's perfectly healthy."

Josh smiles and then bites his lip to hold back a laugh.

"What." Buck frowns.

"Buck." Josh tilts his head and his eyes crinkle in apology. "You gotta realize how ironic those words are coming from the most patient man in the LAFD."

Buck's jaw drops before his eyes light up, entertained, and he kicks out at his friend's shin, a little harder this time. Josh luckily moves his leg out of the way at the right moment and misses getting a sore shin.

"You can be kind of a dick, Josh Russo." Buck snorts, picking up his own mimosa and holding it out for a cheers. "I did  _ not _ know this about you."

Josh beams at Buck proudly, fluttering his eyelashes. He clicks his glass against Bucks and they both drink.

"I dunno." Josh sighs. "Maybe they're right. I mean, I at least need the practice of not being terrified by the idea of a date. And I would like to have Maddie stop worrying about me. It's honestly suffocating."

"You're telling me!" Buck groans loudly. "Ever since we had a heart to heart recently, and then she got extra hormonal, she's been trying to make it up to me that she wasn't there for me when I was going through some shit. I've told her she doesn't need to do that, but-"

"But Maddie can't help  _ helping _ ." Josh nods enthusiastically as he finishes the man's sentence.

"Exactly." Buck exhales, sinking into the booth a little, going for another sip of his mimosa. He freezes before the drink gets to his mouth, then sits upright and puts the flute back down a little forcefully, jarring Josh from his relaxed position. "What if… And hear me out here…  _ What if  _ you dated  _ me? _ "

Josh blinks rapidly and then opens and closes his mouth a few times. Buck remains where his is, leaning toward the shorter man, staring at him excitedly.

"I'm sorry…  _ what?! _ " Josh hisses, looking around for a candid camera.

"No, no, listen." Buck pleads his case enthusiastically. "It would get our friends and family off of our backs, and you could get used to the whole dating thing again without the fear and the pressure… Come on. It's perfect!"

"Are you talking about  _ fake dating _ ?" Josh tilts his head and 'tsk's sympathetically. "Buck, have you been binging Netflix Originals again?"

"No! Jerk." Buck rolls his eyes. "And it wouldn't be like…  _ fake _ . It'd be real. I'd take you out and do nice things for you, and expect you to tell me how romantic and handsome and charming I am… I would be the best guy you ever dated."

Buck smirks in that self-satisfied way that Josh somehow always finds charming instead of annoying.

"Okay, but like…" Josh furrows his brow. "You want a… scheduled relationship? So, we go out a few times and I get comfortable with dating and Maddie pats you on the back for being back in the saddle, and then what? We shake hands and say, good game?"

"Yeah!" Buck grins, seemingly thrilled that Josh gets the proposal. "I miss dating, but I mean, it's still a sore spot in my life, and I don't know if I'm  _ actually _ ready to move on and find someone, but I feel like this will be good for me too."

Josh scrubs a hand across his face and sighs. He looks up at Buck and then over at the karaoke booth where Chimney and Maddie are singing their last notes. He starts clapping politely with the rest of the restaurant, and when he hears a whooping cheer from beside him he looks over and shakes his head fondly at the blonde across from him.

"Fine." Josh says, barely loud enough to cause Buck to look at him in hopeful surprise. Josh rolls his eyes and nods. "Text me sometime this week and ask me on a date. I'll say yes."

"Perfect." Buck smiles widely. "This is gonna be fun. I promise."

Josh arches a disbelieving eyebrow, but smiles right back.

*****

The week flies by and Maddie is sitting in Buck's kitchen when he gets home on Friday. The day had been grueling and Buck kept getting distracted by the memories of his first "date" with Josh. He had been looking forward to getting home and texting the man about their next date.

"You know." Buck eyes her tiredly. "That key is for  _ emergencies _ , Mads."

Maddie squints at him, equally as unimpressed. He rolls his eyes and walks past the stairs toward the television.

"This  _ is _ an emergency, Evan Buckley." Maddie slips off the barstool and waddles toward her brother's couch, her seven month baby bump making her stiff every time she stands. "You went out on a date with my  _ best friend _ !"

"Ouch." Buck winces in playful woundedness. "I thought  _ I  _ was your best friend."

" _ Nooo _ ." Maddie plops down on the couch next to Buck and socks him in the arm. "You're my  _ brother!  _ Which is why I'm  _ pissed _ that you didn't tell me! I had to find out from Josh! In the break room!"

"Why aren't you on leave yet?" Buck frowns down at her belly.

"It's way too early for that." Maddie scoffs, offended. "And don't change the subject! How was it? Josh refused to talk about it because it was too  _ weird. _ "

Buck looks over with a concerned frown.

"He said our date was weird?" He pouts, looking disappointed at the idea that Josh hadn't enjoyed their early afternoon picnic at a park overlooking Malibu.

"No, silly." Maddie giggles, reaching up to press a thumb into the worried crease in his forehead. "He said talking to me about how well his date with my  _ brother _ went was too weird. And he's not wrong. But it's not weird if  _ you  _ tell me! Start from the beginning! How did this happen?"

Buck rocks his head back and forth, considering how to convey the story while leaving out the obvious details about her. He decides to try to stick as close to the truth as possible.

"He and I were talking about him starting to date again. He mentioned how he wasn't sure how comfortable he'd be meeting someone new and I suggested that maybe he didn't have to meet someone new. And then I asked him out." Buck shrugs and stares ahead at the television, satisfied with the story. "That was that. I took him on a picnic near the beach and we walked and talked and it was like it always is with us. We laughed, we flirted. It was really nice."

Maddie doesn't respond, and when Buck turns to her, concerned, he finds his sister's eyes welling up with tears as she fights a frown and a smile at the same time, her brows pinched together dramatically.

"Oh my god, Maddie, no, don't-"

"That is the  _ sweetest _ story I've  _ ever _ heard, Evan." Maddie sobs and throws her arms around an exasperated Buck. She hugs him tight and he rubs her back placatingly. "I am so happy for you! I didn't even know you were interested in him! I feel so bad for joking about it all those months ago! He just didn't really seem your  _ type _ , and I thought you were pining over Eddie-"

"What?!" Buck frowns and pulls away from the hug. "I'm not… Why would you think that?!"

Maddie's mouth turns up in disbelief and Buck scoffs.

"Yeah alright, maybe in the beginning…" Buck concedes. "But after Shannon and then Ali… I just can't look at him that way anymore. He's still very very pretty, don't get me wrong, but we've been through too much together. Plus, I was always pretty sure he was straight."

"Yeah, probably." Maddie agrees. She pulls her knee up onto the couch to settle in more comfortably and smile at her brother "So? Are you going out again? Josh didn't say."

"Well…" Buck draws the word out and then sighs. He mutes the TV and angles himself toward her on the couch. "I'm having a hard time figuring out if I should plan something again, or ask him what he wants to do, or maybe just invite him over? I dunno. I just wanna make sure he's comfortable. He's been through a lot of stuff I can't even imagine, and I feel like I need to make this a great experience for him, so I don't ruin dating for him forever."

Maddie frowns deeply and rears her head back.

"Do you not see this working out?" Maddie shakes her head confused. "Because, if you're not feeling it, you shouldn't lead him on."

Buck bites his lip and struggles with how to explain his statement without giving away the fact that the two men had already agreed to a conclusion of their relationship before it started.

"I'm just being realistic, Mads." Buck smiles weakly. "I don't have the best luck at making people stay, so I think it's best to just enjoy it day by day."

Maddie starts tearing up again and Buck cringes internally at how self-deprecating his answer sounds as he plays it back in his head.

"No, Maddie, c'mon." Buck pulls her into a hug again. "Everything is fine. I'm fine. I just have learned a lot from my past relationships, and I want to take that and make it a positive lesson, y'know? Just be thankful for happy times as they happen, because some things might not last forever."

Maddie nods against his chest and he pats her head.

"I can't believe you're so grown up, Evan! You sound like a voice over at the end of one of those Netflix coming of age movies that we always cry through!" Maddie sobs out with a laugh. "You're going to be the  _ best _ uncle ever."

Buck rolls his eyes and squeezes her tighter.

"Obviously."

*****

Buck decides to take Josh to a small concert for their second date.

They'd discovered in the past how their tastes in music seem to overlap in the two vastly different genres of alternative folk and 90's hip hop, and often spend days texting back and forth about new folk artists or sharing playlists of throwback songs that Josh always teases Buck for being too young to remember.

So Buck figures live music is an infrequent indulgence for the perpetually single, very busy man, and picks out a low key show at the Troubadour featuring an up and coming hip hop artist with a little bit of a folk vibe on his mixtapes. The guy is weird and talented, and Buck has a feeling that Josh will be entertained either way.

He's right, and is graced by a blinding smile on the Josh's face throughout the entire set. The musician puts on an incredible show and his band is amazing, but Buck can barely look away from Josh, the joy on his date's face filling him with warmth.

They go out for a bite at Pink's afterward, because Josh mentions he's never actually eaten there since all they have is hot dogs. Buck says he's gotta go get a vegan dog from Pink's or else he's one of those LA hipsters who thinks they're too good for touristy spots.

Josh agrees that they can't have that and allows himself to be dragged a couple back down to the late night stand.

He admits the hot dog is pretty ridiculously good, and asks the guy manning the window if he's sure he gave them the vegan ones.  _ Twice _ .

Buck isn't even embarrassed but he drags Josh back to the car, shaking his head fondly. Josh rolls his eyes and finishes off his "Patt Morrison Dog" before promptly going off on a rant about a segment on Patt's NPR program and the fact that he gave in and started eating dairy again after something she said in the piece.

Buck listens as best he can as he drives them back to Josh's, but he gets distracted trying to think of when in his life he's ever been so relaxed and happy on a date.

When he drops Josh off, he doesn't have time to say anything before the grinning man is unbuckling his seatbelt and throwing himself into Buck's space, hugging him tightly.

"Buck, you were right." Josh huffs out with clear shock and amusement before pulling away and staring at Buck with wonder. "I might have thought you had lost it a little when you suggested this, but it's been really good for me. You're… Thanks, Buck. Seriously. That's the most fun I've had in a long time. Maybe the most fun I've had on a date  _ ever _ ."

Josh squeezes Buck's forearm and bids him goodnight.

Buck watches him disappear into his building before finally replying to no one.

"Yeah, me too."

*****

Buck hears a knock at his door and wipes his hands on the dish towel next to the stove. He walks to open the door and grins at the sight of the bashful looking man on the other side.

"It's stupid right? You hate it?" Josh winces as he thrusts the small bouquet of orange roses and white daisies at Buck. "I just… you insisted I not bring anything, and it felt so  _ stupid _ to show up empty handed and-"

"Josh!" Buck laughs loudly as he grabs the flowers. "Calm down, I love them! No one has ever thought to get me flowers, and I love daisies! Honestly, it's amazing, man."

Buck reaches out with his free hand and pulls the smaller man in for a half-hug, still grinning at the petite floral arrangement.

"God, really? You're not just being nice?" Josh frets as he toes off his shoes and watches Buck lock the front door behind them.

"No! This is seriously one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me." Buck beams at him and Josh exhales heavily in relief. "Come on. Dinner is almost ready."

The two eat homemade Flatbread vegan pizza and a packaged Costco salad that Buck swears by. Josh takes a picture of the label to add to his own shopping list. Buck whips out a bottle of wine and some fruit with chocolate hummus for dessert. Josh is understandably hesitant, but ends up taking a picture of that too, especially after Buck mentions that it comes in snickerdoodle flavor.

"Oh my god." Josh grins as he takes a sip of wine and watches Buck tidy up the kitchen, since they never made it out of that area as they ate, too engrossed in conversation and enjoying the casual setting around the small island. "You are  _ such _ a foodie. How didn't I know this before?"

"I'm not." Buck snorts down at the sink. "I just know what I like."

Buck dries off his hands after rinsing their fruit plate. He makes his way back to the stool where Josh is basking in the glow of good food and wine. Buck steps between Josh's knees and reaches for his face.

"You've got-" Buck cuts himself off by biting his lower lip, and swipes his thumb across Josh's bottom lip. Josh draws his eyebrows together confused. And his tongue darts out to lick his lips before Buck has time to draw his finger away.

The second Josh's tongue swipes against the skin of Buck's thumb, his jaw drops slightly and his eyes widen in shock at his own reflexive action. Buck simply laughs fondly, making no motion to pull away.

"Can I kiss you?" Buck grins down at Josh, hand still on the man's clean shaven jaw.

"Oh." Josh's eyes widen in surprise and he blinks up at the firefighter. "I didn't know there was kissing involved in this whole…  _ thing _ ."

"There doesn't have to be." Buck shrugs a single shoulder, still smiling, though a bit more shyly than a moment before. "But I mean… that's part of dating, right? Kissing, touching,  _ more _ . And it just seemed like a romantic moment. Seemed appropriate."

Josh smiles back, just as shy, and then nods.

"Yeah." He laughs softly. "Yeah, okay. I'd like it if there was kissing."

"Yeah?" Buck teases quietly as he leans down, smiling to himself as Josh's eyes flutter shut. He whispers against the man's lips. "Me too."

Their mouths press together softly, tentatively, and then Josh reaches up and wraps a hand around Buck's neck, craning up to deepen the kiss hungrily.

It's been ages since Josh felt the urge to kiss someone, and longer since he's had a kiss so addicting and all-consuming. Buck moans against his mouth and then slides a tongue across Josh's bottom lip. It encourages him even more and soon Josh is navigating Buck out of the kitchen toward the couch. The kisses alternate between sweet and filthy as they stumble to the den-like space and Josh pushes Buck backwards to sit on the plush cushions.

"This okay?" Josh pants, biting his lip worriedly as he stands in front of the adorable, gorgeous man he hadn't ever dreamed he'd be kissing just two weeks ago.

The blonde looks wrecked, face flushed, lips wet and reddened from the kiss. He stares up at Josh with a look of awe and it makes the older man blush nervously.

"Yeah." Buck says, finally. He swallows and nods up at Josh before grabbing the smaller man by the waist and tugging him down forcefully so that he's straddling Buck's thighs. "It's  _ more _ than okay."

Buck whispers more of his enthusiastic approval and encouragement into Josh's throat, biting and kissing along the smooth, taught skin as the brunette digs his fingers hard into Buck's thick biceps.

Josh can only moan in response to the overwhelming sensations and hold on.

*****

Buck wakes up in the middle of the night when something knocks into his thigh.

He groans and tries to stretch, but it jostles the head that's currently using his arm as a pillow. An answering groan follows and Buck curls around the body in apology.

"Hey." Buck yawns, burrowing his face into the warm bare skin between Josh's shoulder blades. "You kick in your sleep."

"Sorry." Josh grumbles. "Didn't mean to fall asleep here. I don't have any of my stuff."

"'Sfine." Buck snuffles against his skin. "My alarm goes off at  _ ass o'clock. _ You'll be up in time to go back home and get ready."

Josh laughs and carefully maneuvers himself to face Buck instead of being spooned. He blinks sleepily at the blonde and then leans in to kiss the corner of his mouth. He pulls away as Buck tries to lazily pull him into a real kiss without even opening his eyes.

"Last night was nice." Josh whispers. His fingers run along the bottom of Buck's spine and then across the elastic edge of the man's boxer briefs. "It was surprising. But  _ really _ nice.

"Keep that up and you'll get a repeat." Buck hums, eyes still closed.

"I bet." Josh snorts softly and his hand drifts higher, to the middle of Buck's back, soothing him back to sleep. He keeps the soft gentle touch going as Buck's breathing starts to even out. "You're a really good man, Evan Buckley. I don't know how anyone could ever bear leaving you once they've had you."

Buck falls back to sleep before he can hear it.

Josh is already gone when his alarm sounds.

*****

"I… have a problem." Buck sighs, sitting down next to his best friend at the firehouse kitchen table.

"Just one?" Eddie arches his eyebrow and asks through a mouthful of cereal.

"Dick." Buck snorts, reaching for a banana. He starts peeling it and sighs at the fruit woefully. Eddie just keeps chewing and squints at him, waiting for an explanation of his best friend's obviously distressing problem. "But yeah. So… Josh and I kind of hooked up last night."

"Okay, one…" Eddie swallows his mouthful of breakfast and eyes Buck's banana dubiously. "Please do not demonstrate. And two… Aren't you dating? How is that a problem?"

Buck rolls his eyes and bites the top of his banana off while keeping eye contact with Eddie. The man breaks into a grin and sneers playfully at Buck.

"Look, you can't tell anyone what I'm about to say, alright?" Buck raises his eyebrows in question until Eddie sighs and nods in agreement. "So, Josh and I were only dating temporarily."

Eddie drops his spoon into his bowl with a splash and a loud clang.

"Buck, I  _ told you _ to stop watching those Netflix Original movies."

"Wha-  _ Why _ does everyone keep saying that?!" Buck furrows his brow and pouts before taking another bite of the banana. Eddie rolls his eyes and refuses to answer, so Buck continues his explanation. "Look, it's not how it sounds. We like each other, we're friends, we're attractive people with some deeply scarring recent dating experiences. We agreed to maybe try easing back into the dating pool by starting with something that would be free of the pressure and uncertainty and well…  _ danger _ of meeting someone new."

Eddie tilts his head and frowns sympathetically at Buck, who, still pouting, finishes his banana and gets up to throw out the peel.

"Buck, I see what you were doing, and I know you had the best intentions at heart…" Eddie sighs and gets up as well, going to wash his dish in the sink. "But this has  _ got _ to be one of your stupidest ideas, man."

"Why?" Buck whines and flails his arms indignantly.

"Because you get attached! It's what you do!" Eddie's voice matches his pitch and mimics his arm movement as best he can with a soapy sponge in hand. "That's the problem right? You slept with Josh and now you realized you want to do it again. And you don't want things to end. And you want to call him your boyfriend. Because you're fucking  _ attached _ , which I could have told you would happen if you'd consulted me before rushing into another impulsive decision, you dumbass."

By the time Eddie finishes his rant, he's done washing his bowl and spoon and drying his hands. He turns to see Buck lying back on the long couch with a hand draped over his eyes.

"If you're done being an insufferable know-it-all…" Buck grumbles as Eddie walks toward him. "Do you want to help me figure out what I'm supposed to do about it?"

Eddie picks Buck's legs up by the ankle and sits down at the end of the couch, letting Buck's calves rest on his thighs. He pats the man's shins until Buck peels the arm of his face and looks up at Eddie.

"It's not just that you feel comfortable with him?" Eddie furrows his brow. "Less… alone?"

Buck purses his lips and twists them in thought.

"I don't think so." He whispers, finally. "But I don't know if I can trust myself about shit like this, Eddie. I don't want to hurt him. That's literally the  _ opposite _ of what I was trying to do here. So maybe I should just leave it alone. Stick to the  _ plan _ ."

Eddie looks away and laughs. He pats the blonde's shin again, settling into the couch with a slouch.

"I wish I had the answers for you, man. I do." Eddie rolls his neck against the back of the couch before settling his gaze on Buck again. "But I can say that the way you talk about it… about  _ him _ … I think this might be different. I think it's at least worth telling the dude how you feel. Maybe let him decide what happens from here."

Buck blinks in consideration before a grin breaks out onto his face and he takes one of his hands and reaches out to swat Eddie's elbow closest to him.

"When'd you get so wise, huh?" Buck teases and relaxes back against the couch as his best friend laughs and rolls his eyes.

"I blame Christopher." Eddie sighs fondly, and the two men sit back, enjoying the blessedly slow day in the firehouse.

*****

Josh doesn't text Buck the next day, despite having the day off.

Buck's shift is shorter than usual, so he texts Josh at the beginning of it, saying he's done at three.

Josh doesn't answer by then.

Buck parks at his complex then swings by Trader Joe's across the street and grabs necessities, throwing in a couple Ahi steaks just in case he has company for dinner. Both men are currently practicing pescal vegetarians, and had gushed over their shared love of seared fish just a week ago.

He dials Josh on the walk back to place and the man picks up with a distracted, " _ Hello _ ?"

"Josh?" Buck frowns at the exasperated tone in the man's greeting.

_ "Hey Buck, sorry I didn't text back. I'm sort of… Can I call you later?" _

"Oh." Buck flushes in embarrassment for no reason at all and rushes to end the call. "Yeah, totally, sorry for bothering you. Just text me.  _ Whenever _ . No rush. I'll just, yeah. Bye."

Buck pockets his phone and enters his apartment with a heavy exhale. He starts putting away his groceries and when he grabs the fish, he shoves the package so far into the back of his freezer he can't see it anymore.

His phone vibrates and Buck sees Chimney's name, but he lets it go to voice-mail, opting to head to the shower instead.

He spends more time than usual letting the hot water roll across his skin and wash away the stress and worries of his day, his week, his year. He washes his hair slowly, stretching out his neck and willing his body to relax and enjoy the easy afternoon off. By the time he towels off, wanders to his bedroom, does some quick yoga stretches, and dresses himself in the rattiest most comfortable clothes he owns, the sun is lower than midday. Buck is finally ready to enjoy a night to himself with a good stand-up show on Netflix, and maybe a mindlessly indulgent almond butter chocolate protein milkshake for dinner.

Which is why the sight of Josh sitting on one of his kitchen stools jars him so badly he stumbles into the wall.

"What the-"

"Sorry!" Josh holds his hands out apologetically and stands from his stool. "Maddie dropped me off and let me in when you didn't answer, I'm sorry!"

" _ Emergencies _ ." Buck wheezes, his hand grasping his loose cut-off tee as he gets his footing back.

"What?" Josh frowns in concern, looking like he wants to start triage on Buck.

"Maddie's key." Buck mutters. He swallows thickly and shakes his head. "She doesn't seem to understand it's for  _ emergencies _ . Not that I don't want you here, I just… wow. My heart rate needs to adjust, sorry."

"I'm so sorry. I told them this was a stupid idea." Josh buries his face in his hands and walks the opposite direction, further into the kitchen. Buck follows slowly, carefully stopping only when Josh turns back around with a panicked expression. "I told Maddie. About us. Or… the truth about us, I guess. And I told Chim. Well... I didn't tell Chim. Maddie just isn't very quiet when she yells, and so he came in and we all argued over it and then you called and that's why I'm here, because they insisted that I be here, and I told them you probably wouldn't want me to just show up, but well… here I am."

Buck blinks at the man in front of him, processing the jumbled mess of an explanation, and then his eyes open wide in realization. His mouth follows suit, gaping in identical panic.

The two men stare at each other for a moment before Buck picks his jaw up off the floor and spits out a similar confession.

"I told Eddie."

Josh frowns at the firefighter's words. He shakes his head in confusion and then makes several aborted attempts to respond before Buck puts him out of his misery.

"I told Eddie that I had this asinine idea that I could date you and then just let you go." Buck rambles, stepping forward with pleading eyes. "And he instantly knew just as well as I did that I was an idiot for thinking that I could ever let go of something as good as you without a fight. Because that's what I do. I fight for the things I want. I'm _very_ _stubborn_. It's _obnoxious_. I'm _relentless_."

Josh frowns and his eyes crinkle at the corners and he covers his mouth with his hand.

"And I hope that you like all that about me. Because it's who I am. I'm not gonna change. I'm getting better at figuring out how to be…  _ me _ ." Buck rubs a hand through his short hair self-consciously, looking away and then back at Josh with a tentative smile. "But I am me. And that coincidentally means I'm exactly the kind of guy who can't help falling for  _ you _ . I want  _ you _ , Josh. For real. For a much longer time than I originally negotiated. And I really hope that the reason you told my sister, who is going to  _ murder _ me by the way, is that you might sort of want that too."

Josh's hand is still on his mouth and he shakes his head slowly and it makes Buck's chest seize in fear for a moment, thinking he'd read the whole situation wrong, before the obstructing hand falls away from a wide grin.

"I knew you'd been watching too many Netflix movies, Buck." Josh chuckles fondly, stepping closer and reaching for Buck's jaw. "What the hell kind of romcom speech was that, you goofball?"

Buck doesn't have time to find a response before the shorter man surges up to kiss him. Buck lets his arms wrap around Josh's waist and kisses back as fiercely as the fire in his chest burns, spurned by the idea that the man in his arms wants him too.

The kiss is inevitably ruined by Buck's inability to tame his grin, and Josh resorts to pressing his own upturned lips to the hinge of Buck's jaw as they hug each other in relief and elation.

"So, I feel like we're on the same page here, but just to be clear…" Buck whispers, turning to place a kiss in Josh's hair. "We're not going to stop dating, right? Preferably not  _ ever _ , but at least not anytime soon, yeah?"

Josh snorts out a muffled sound that restless the word "idiot" and it dissolves into giggles that get muffled by Bucks shirt. Buck laughs right back before picking Josh up and carrying him to the couch with every intention of spending the rest of his evening kissing the incredible catch of a man.


End file.
